Starla's love Adalene's jealousy
by Amber Lynn Jackson
Summary: Zombies


Starla's Love

Adalene's Jealousy

Amber Lynn Jackson

**Characters**

Starla Johnson: Me

Carlos Riviera: William

The First Guy (the one that grabbed Starla, Leon Marcus): Morgan

The second Guy (Luis Montreal): Michael

Adalene: Ashley

Jacob Johnson (Starla's little brother): Danny

Sasha Johnson (Starla and Jacob's mom): Nella

Gabrael Johnson (Starla and Jacob's dad): Rocco

Edwyrd Silvyr (Starla and Jacob's distant cousin): Brian

Rose Benson (A scientist who finds the cure): Jessi

Bruce Gaupo: Jessie

**Chapter 1**

**The Truth**

I was in the bathroom when this masked person stood right behind me. He closed the door and I was about to scream. He bashed me in the head before the scream could ever reach his ears. He dragged me to his car and took me to his house. I slowly wake up to find that I am in a closet and I started to freak out. I passed out after he opened the door. He took the handcuffs off me and I dropped to the floor. I woke up and there was another guy in the room. I can barely make out what they are saying. I forgot that I had a knife in the back of my pants. I slowly got up and backed up to the nearest door trying not to be noticed by the two men that are arguing with each other. As I got to the door, they realized that I was no longer on the floor. I heard them yelling at me. But I don't hear them because I'm running now. My heart races with every step that I took. My mind started to race and I try to get a grip on it. I ran faster because I could hear their footsteps behind me. I turned down an alley and jumped a brick wall. They scream louder, but I'm still running.

The torture they must have put me through ran through my mind. A door opened up and this zombie popped out from the other side. I tried not to scream and keep running. I turned another corner and more zombies popped out from everywhere. I became surrounded by them. All of a sudden, this man reels down, grabs me and reels us both back up onto the roof.

"Ma'am, are you ok?" he asked.

Bewildered, I said, "Who are you?"

"Carlos Riviera. What's your name, pretty lady?" he replied.

"Starla. What are those things?"

"Those are zombies. Mindless freaks."

It became clear to me that I wasn't going to get out of this horrible mess with those zombies around. _Who are those guys?_ I thought.

"Those guys are trained cops sent to protect you," Carlos said as if reading my mind.

"But why would they lock me in a closet?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe they thought you were their queen," replied Carlos.

"But how can that be? I'm only a teenager!" I whined.

"I know what you are, Starla," he said.

As we sat there, the door on the roof busted open and the two men walked through it with their guns drawn. They were very angry with me because I ran away from them. One of them stepped forward to slap me, but I turned away. I was so scared that he was going to hurt me that I jumped off the roof of the building into a pit of zombies. I tried to run away, but they got to me. I was about to turn into one of them. But before I could, I heard all the guys scream out to me. I fell to the floor, blood trickling down my side. They injected me with a serum before I could completely turn into a zombie.

"Come on, Starla! Please hang on!" screamed Carlos.

Believing that the serum worked, one of the two unknown men told Carlos to ward off the zombies with him while the other picked me up and slammed me against the wall.

"WAKE UP, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" he screamed at me.

I tried to make his voice go through my mind, making it comprehendible, but it was hard. I tried to stare at him. My vision became unfocused, but the way he stared at me made me quiver. Then the other guy and Carlos came back.

"How's she doing?" Carlos asked.

"She's fighting," the guy replied with a stern look on his face.

"Why am I still alive? I should be one of them!" I asked in a low voice.

"Starla what did you say?" asked the other man.

"She asked why should she be here, she should be one of them," replied the first man who was still holding me.

"Because, Starla. We gave you a serum that would stop the virus that's in your body," said Carlos with a boyish look of concern.

I pushed away the man's arm and I tried to walk over to Carlos. As I walked, I started to wobble. As I reached him, I fell to the ground.

"I'm so weak! I cried out.

"Don't say that, Starla," Carlos replied as he picked me up and held me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Why do you care about me so much?" I asked him quietly.

"Because I love you," was his only answer and he bent down to sweep me off of my feet so he and the other two men could take me to the hospital.

**Chapter 2**

**How everything worked**

As I doze in and out of consciousness, I heard people arguing that I'm not going to make it and that they should tell my parents. I started to panic and I jolt up in frustration.

I looked around to try and find Carlos or the other two guys that I came with, but I couldn't find them. I tried to stand up, but am unable to and I fall to the floor. I whimper in pain. One of the doctors rushed over to me.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I am looking for someone," I replied.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Where are the guys that I came with?"

"In a few rooms down from here, do you want me to get them?"

"Just one of them, please."

"Which one?"

"Carlos."

"Ok, let me go get him."

As I lay there watching the doctor go get Carlos, I kept thinking of what he said to me before we came here. I tried to get up on my feet again when I saw the doctor returning with Carlos.

"You pulled through!" he cried, running over to me to help me up.

"Surprised?" I asked.

"No. I'm just happy," he replied.

"Good."

"How are you feeling?"

"In pain."

He picked me up off the floor to let me stand. Then he guided me to the room where he was with the other two guys. I was holding onto Carlos because I didn't want to fall again. When we reached the room, the two men were surprised that I was up and moving.

"I see that you are ok," one of them said. "My name is Leon Marcus."

"It's surprising that you are moving so quickly," the other said. "I'm Luis Montreal."

"Which one of you took me from my house?" I asked.

"Me," replied Leon.

"Why?"

"Because you are the one that will save us in our time of need," replied Luis.

I tried to stay calm, but hearing that made me shake uncontrollably. I was still holding onto Carlos, though. He wrapped his arms around me. Luis watched him like a baffled idiot. I was still in pain from what those things did to me.

"What exactly am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"Save us in our time of need," replied Leon.

"How?"

"With the powers you have."

"What powers?"

"Have you ever done anything that you couldn't explain?" asked Luis.

"When I was in karate, I went from being in the dojo to being at home in two seconds and I don't know how or why," I replied.

Luis watched my expression change from pain to nothing as he stood there across from Carlos and me. Leon, on the other hand, was pacing the room behind Luis. Carlos was still holding me.

"That means you have the power to go from one place to another," stated Leon, who was still pacing.

"Why are you pacing, Leon?" asked Carlos.

"I have no clue why I'm pacing, Carlos," replied Leon.

"Then stop pacing!"

Leon stopped pacing after a few minutes and stared at me clinging to Carlos. But this time I had buried my face in Carlos's chest. What I didn't know was that my life would be changing from this day on.

"Carlos, why are you holding onto a child like _her_?" came a voice at the door.

Everyone looked at the door to see a woman standing in the doorway. She just stood there like there was no chance for survival.

"Adalene, what are you talking about?" asked Carlos.

"You're holding onto her like she doesn't have a life worth living for," replied Adalene.

"What makes you so positive that I don't have a life worth living for?" I asked.

"You have no experience in our field. You're just a child in need of a mother."

**Chapter 3**

**Escaping**

For no apparent reason, I let go of Carlos and went over to Adalene and socked her in the face. I was so infuriated at the fact that she called me a child. Carlos was shocked that I let go of him and socked Adalene in the face. Adalene, however, just took the blow as if there was a fly in the room.

I walked out of the room and began walking toward the entrance of the hospital when all three guys rushed out of the room after me. I started walking faster because I heard Adalene's footsteps. Every doctor just stood there in their spot and stared at me walking out of there with four people chasing after me. Everything was in a blur because I wasn't supposed to be walking. And yet here I was walking out of the hospital that said I wasn't going to make it.

"Starla!" Carlos called after me.

"What do you want from me, Carlos?" I said as I stopped in my tracks and whipped around to look at him.

"Why are you so edgy all of a sudden?" he asked.

"Because I don't like this!" I replied.

"Be patient, please!"

"How am I supposed to be patient when all of this is happening?"

"I don't know!"

We stood there for a few minutes staring at each other. My knees began to shake from standing for too long and Carlos rushed over to catch me from falling.

"You shouldn't have walked out of the hospital, Starla," he said quietly to me.

"I know. I just wanted to get out of there," I replied.

Luis, Leon, and Adalene finally reached us. They just stood there watching us because Carlos was holding onto me again. I felt that Adalene was still in love with Carlos, but he didn't love her like he loved me. I didn't even know him that well, but I was starting to like him. Then my mind started to turn to thinking about the zombies and how they were overtaking the city. We all were just standing there waiting for everything to happen again.

"Why do you keep holding her when she's just a child, Carlos?" Adalene asked.

"Because I love her more than you," replied Carlos.

"Well, she's not worth your time," stated Adalene impatiently.

"She's worth more of my time than you, Adalene."

"Can we just get out of here before those things reach us?" I interjected.

"And where, do you suggest, should we go?" Luis asked.

"I don't know!" I proclaimed.

"Why don't we go to your place, Starla?" stated Carlos.

"Why there?"

"Do you like to know the real reason why your parents haven't told you the truth about you?" asked Leon.

"All they told me was that I was in danger from some things," I replied.

"Well we should go to your place so your parents could tell you the reason why you have these powers," Leon stated.

"Ok."

We started walking when all of a sudden zombies started swarming us. I became annoyed with the fact that they were all around us. But I realized that they couldn't see us. Leon, Adalene, Carlos, and I watched Luis disappear into the darkness leaving us there by ourselves with a bunch of zombies all around us.

"I hear a car starting in the distance," I said.

"How do you know that?" asked Adalene.

"Maybe a keen sense of hearing?" I stated.

After I said that, we all saw headlights pointing in our direction and the car swerved to its side and stopped right in front of us.

"Everybody get in," cried Luis.

"Told ya, Adalene," I said as Carlos and I both got into the car.

"What happened?" asked Luis.

"Nothing, Luis," mumbled Leon.

Leon, Carlos, and I got into the back seat while Adalene got in the front seat next to Luis. While everyone got situated, Luis revved the engine and took off. Carlos had me in his lap so that he could hold onto me. Adalene, however, was getting agitated that Carlos was clinging to me. I tried sleeping when we were going to my house, but couldn't because Luis kept hitting zombies with the car. When we finally got to my house, Luis noticed that the front door was off its hinges and on the floor.

"Did you break the door down when you went into the house, Leon?" asked Luis.

"No, I didn't," replied Leon.

"Well, what happened?" Luis asked.

"I don't know," replied Leon.

While they were talking, I finally fell asleep in Carlos's arms a few minutes after he fell asleep. Adalene was so infuriated that Carlos was holding me instead of her.

"Do you realize that if you hold onto Carlos like this, he'll just love Starla more than you?" asked Leon.

"How do you know that?" retorted Adalene.

"Look at the way he looks at her and then look at the way he looks at you," he stated.

"And your point is?"

"My point is, Adalene, that he's starting to fall in love with her and cares for her like he cared for you."

"We need to wake them up so that we could go in the house," Luis stated.

"I'll wake them up," Leon said and pushed my leg.

I jolted awake and stared at Leon to see what was going on. When that happened, Carlos woke up and realized that we were finally at my house. My heart was pounding when I saw that my front door was off its hinges.

"What happened to my front door?" I asked in a panicky voice.

"I don't know, Starla," replied Leon.

"Did you go in the house to see if my parents were still there?"

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"We had to wake you up first in order to do that."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's go!"

**Chapter 4**

**My house**

Everyone opened the car doors and got out. Carlos tried holding onto me, but couldn't because I rushed into the house. I saw one zombie was in the living room, so I took it slow and went upstairs to see if my parents were in their bedroom. The others looked around the house to see if they could find my parents. I had seen that there was blood on the carpet in my parents' bedroom and I began to think that the zombie downstairs was the one responsible for taking my parents.

I ran downstairs and went to the basement door to see if they were in there. But when I got to the door, it was locked from the inside. I rushed to the kitchen to find the keys; I saw that someone was in the living room besides the zombie. It was my little brother hiding in the corner to stay away from the zombie.

"Don't move," he mouthed.

"Where are mom and dad?" I mouthed back.

"In the basement, but they locked the door."

"Why didn't you go down there?"

"They thought I was already down there."

"Starla, duck!" Carlos growled when he saw the zombie move closer to me.

I ducked out of the way and heard Carlos pull the trigger of his gun and killed the zombie. I then rushed over to my little brother to see if he was ok and not bitten. When I checked that he was fine, I took him to go to the basement to get our parents. Carlos followed us to the basement door with his gun pointing to the floor.

"What's your name, little kid?" Carlos asked.

"Jacob," replied my little brother.

"My name's Carlos."

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"Checking on the neighbors," replied Carlos.

"You like my sister," stated Jacob.

"How do you know that I like your sister?" asked Carlos.

"The way you talk to her."

"That doesn't mean anything, Jake," I said as I unlocked the door.

"Let me go down first, Starla," Carlos said as he got in front of Jacob and me.

When Carlos went down the stairs, the others that came with us showed up. They saw that Jacob was with me and all of them pointed their guns at him. I got in front of him to block them from hurting him.

"Is he one of them?" asked Luis.

"No," I replied.

"Where'd you find him?"

"In a corner where the zombie was."

"Who killed the zombie?"

"Carlos did."

"Where is he?"

"He went downstairs," I said as I looked down the stairs at the back of Carlos's head.

"Why did he go downstairs?" Adalene asked,

"Because my parents are down there."

"We need to go down here," interjected Jacob as he tugged at my shirt so that we could go downstairs.

I grabbed the railing so that I wouldn't fall down the stairs.

"Starla, do you still have the keys?" asked Carlos.

"Yeah. Why?" I replied.

"This door is locked," he said.

"Did you knock on the door?" I asked.

"No."

The door swung open and my parents walked out and gave me a great big hug. My mom let go of me after a minute and went over to Jacob and smacked him across the face.

"We thought you were dead, Jake," my mom said.

"Well, I'm not, Sasha," replied Jacob.

"Jacob!" growled my father.

"What, Gabrael?" Jacob asked.

"Don't talk to your mother or me like that!"

"I'm adopted, so why should I call you two my parents when my real parents are dead?"

"Because we took you in when you were just a baby!"

They kept arguing with each other while Carlos and I went upstairs to the others. Leon, Luis and Adalene were standing at the top of the stairs waiting for all of us to return, but only saw Carlos and me returning.

"What are they arguing about?" asked Leon.

"Jacob is adopted and he's arguing with my parents that he doesn't have to call them by mom and dad," I replied, "because he thinks that if he starts calling them mom and dad that the memories of his real parents will vanish."

Just as I said that, my parents and Jacob emerged from the basement. My mom looked distraught because Jacob wouldn't call her mom. My dad, however, looked like he was about to kill Jacob. I leaned against the wall trying to figure everything out, but couldn't because there were zombies outside coming toward us. Carlos looked in the same direction as me.

"You four go downstairs!" Carlos growled at my family and me.

"And do what, exactly?" I asked.

"Stay down there until I come and get you," he replied.

I looked at him with great pain, but did as he said. My brother and parents, however, just stood there not wanting to move. But I grabbed Jacob's arm and pushed him toward the stairs. Even though he was adopted, I was the only one that he would call a sister because I cared for him more than our parents. Leon, Luis, Adalene and Carlos drew out their guns and hid. I partly closed the door and sat against the wall opposite of the cracked door so I could see what was happening. A bunch of zombies were coming in.

"What do we do?" whispered Luis.

"Stay calm," answered Leon.

"Why should we stay calm when all these things are out there?" growled Luis.

"Because it's the only thing that we can do when we have people to protect!" barked Carlos.

I listened to them argue with each other when the first one slowly came in. I watched it come in, and then dropped.

"Starla, close the door!" barked Carlos.

"I want to help!" I cried.

"How?" he asked.

"I don't…." I started.

"Starla Ann Johnson!" growled my mother.

"What mother?" I barked.

"Get down here now!" she said.

"Why should I?'

"Because I don't want you hurt, that's why!"

"I've already been hurt once before, mom!"

"What do you mean?"

"I was already attacked by those things after Leon took me from here."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"I jumped off the roof and landed into a pit of them and couldn't escape."

"What did they do?"

"Who?"

"The guys?"

"Luis and Carlos chased them away and Leon injected me with a serum."

"Thank God you're still alive then."

"Sure."

I opened the door and Carlos tossed me a gun. I felt like running out the door and shooting all the zombies that came in my way, but didn't. I just pointed the gun at the first zombie that came into view and shot it in the head. Another one came into view but I couldn't shoot it. It just came closer and closer to me. Jacob was in the spot where I was watching everything happen while my parents were at the bottom of the stairs listening. Carlos finally got up and slammed me against the wall. He was so close to me, and our breaths were mixed together.

"Are you ok?" he whispered.

"I think so," I replied.

His eyes were so gorgeous when I looked deep into them. We just stood there looking at each other. Then we heard a gunshot. It was Luis.

"Are you two just gunna stand there and look at each other, or are you going to help out?" growled Luis.

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"Are you two going to help out or not?"

Adalene was staring at us like we just took a stake through her heart. She was so depressed that she took her rage out on all the zombies that were outside. Carlos and I just kept staring at each other and Jacob was watching us through the door.

"Is it safe to come out yet?" called my mom.

"Yeah, it is," Luis called back.

My parents and Jacob came out of the hallway to the basement cautiously. Carlos was still in front of me when my parents emerged from the hallway. When he saw them from the corner of his eye, he walked away. I slid down the wall, falling more in love with him. Adalene was still outside killing all the zombies. I then realized that my cousin was still staying with us, so I got up and ran to the guest bedroom upstairs. It was locked.

"Edwyrd!" I yelled through the door.

No answer.

"Edwyrd, open the door, please!" I yelled through the door again and jingled the door handle.

There was shuffling behind the door and it finally unlocked.

"Is it safe to come out?" he asked.

"Yes it is, Edwyrd," I replied.

"Are you one of them?"

"No, Ed, I'm not one of them. Please come out!"

He came out and gave me a giant hug. Carlos came upstairs and stopped at the third step. Edwyrd grabbed the gun away from me and pointed it at Carlos.

"Is he one of them?"

"No, Ed," I replied and pushed his arm down.

"Why is he here?"

"To help us."

"Who's he?" Carlos asked.

"Ed is my cousin," I replied.

"Why is he staying with you?"

"Because my parents didn't want me this week," Edwyrd replied.

"Ed, how long have you been bitten?" I asked when I saw the bite mark on his arm.

"Two hours, why?" he replied.

"Who has the serum?" I asked Carlos.

"I do," Carlos replied and grabbed it out of his pocket to toss it to me.

"Why did you wait this long, Ed?" I asked.

"I don't know!" he replied.

"Well, this will take affect soon."

I injected Edwyrd with the serum. We all went downstairs to see that everyone was outside in the front yard. Everyone but Adalene saw us come down the stairs because she was sitting on the curb.

"What's wrong with Adalene?" I asked.

"She's upset that Carlos is falling in love with you and doesn't love her anymore," replied Leon.

"Why should she be upset if he's falling in love with me?"

"Because he was hers first, Starla," replied Luis in his sweet Spaniard voice that would make anyone want him.

"Why doesn't she say anything about it instead of lurking around where no one can hear her thoughts?" I asked.

"Because she's a stupid crazy psycho, that's why," Carlos said and wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck.

"Ok. She doesn't need to act like it."

"She always acts like this every time I meet someone new and fall in love with them."

"That's really weird then."

"Well, Starla… It's her prerogative to do that every time she sees Carlos with someone new," stated Leon.

**Chapter 5**

**Back at the Warehouse**

We finally got into two cars and went to the place where Leon and Luis had me. I was beginning to feel like I had no control over what was going on between Carlos and me. There were still zombies everywhere outside. I just wanted everything to be over with so I could move on with my life. Leon opened the door to realize that there were more people crowding the place than usual.

"What's going on here?" he barked.

"What do you mean, Leon?" asked the closest person near us.

"Why are there more people in here?"

"Well, we were flushed out of our building so we came here," replied the person.

"Why wasn't I informed?" asked Leon.

"We tried to inform you, but the phone lines were down."

"You could have searched around for me instead of showing up here!"

"We're sorry."

Adalene still seemed shocked at the fact that Carlos and I were holding hands. She kept staring at us like we were crazy. But I felt like Carlos wanted to get away from her. Carlos was staring at the girl who was speaking to Leon, trying to figure out her name. My parents, Jacob and Edwyrd were standing way back to where no one could see them.

"Kid, what's your name again?" Carlos asked.

"My name is Rose Benson, sir" she replied.

"Well, Rose, what's going on here?"

"We're trying to find a cure for the virus," she replied.

"Ok."

"Carlos, you're such a prick!" growled Adalene.

"Oh really, Adalene?" smirked Carlos.

"Why do you always have to be a jerk to everyone?"

"You're just jealous that I moved on and you didn't, Adalene."

"Excuse me, sir," squeaked Rose.

"You don't have to call me sir, Rose," replied Carlos.

"Well, uh, you are interrupting our studies on finding the cure."

"I'm sorry, Rose. Adalene and I will take it outside," replied Carlos as he headed outside with Adalene.

After they left, I went to go sit down. Everyone just looked at me like I was crazy. We all heard a slap and then saw Carlos come back without Adalene.

"Are you ok, Starla?" he whispered in my ear.

"Yeah. Why?" I replied.

"Just wondering," he replied.

I rested my head against his chin. Everyone was rushing around us, especially Rose. I fell asleep and Carlos picked me up to take me upstairs to a room where Leon and Luis were at.

"Why is she up here?" Luis asked.

"She's tired and I don't want her to be in the way down there," Carlos replied.

**Chapter 6**

**Laughing**

They all walked over to the railing to watch over the busied warehouse. Carlos leaned his back against the railing and watched me sleep.

"What happened to Adalene, Carlos?" Leon asked.

"She's still outside," replied Carlos.

"Why doesn't she come in?"

"Because she doesn't want to be near Starla."

"Well that's crap," replied Luis.

"Why is that crap, Luis?" asked Carlos.

"Before Adalene ever met Starla, she was all for saving the girl."

"But…"

"But when she saw you holding her, she lost it."

"Well, she shouldn't care about me anymore."

"Easier said than done for her."

"Why?"

"Because she's still holding onto you," replied Leon.

"Why did I ever date her?" growled Carlos.

"Correction: Why did you ever ask her out?" stated Leon with a laugh.

They all laughed a bit while Carlos kept watching me. Then Luis nudged Carlos and pointed at the door. Adalene walked in with bloodshot eyes.

"Maybe we should stop talking about her," laughed Carlos.

**Chapter 7**

**Resurrection**

When I finally woke up, everything seemed normal. I went downstairs to where just earlier people were rushing around. But now the only people that were there were my family, Leon, Luis, Adalene, Carlos, and Rose.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Everyone went to go get some stuff from their homes," replied Rose.

"And how long has that been?"

"Three hours," replied Edwyrd.

"Only a few came back within half an hour," stated Rose.

"Should we go looking for them?" I asked.

"It's a possibility, but I really don't think we should," replied Rose.

Slowly, we waited for everyone to return, but no one did. Rose kept looking at the door, but it never opened.

"Should we go now?" asked Carlos.

"Yeah," replied Rose.

"What about us?" my mom asked.

"You stay here," replied Leon.

Leon, Luis, Carlos, Adalene, Rose and I left to search for the other scientists. We all split up in different directions. But we all saw each other in one spot or another.

"Everybody, wait!" cried Rose.

"What's going on, Rose?" asked Leon.

"We have no clue where to go because everyone doesn't live here," she replied.

"Why didn't you tell us that before, Rose?" growled Carlos.

"I'm sorry!" she cried.

"Well how many live here in town?" I asked.

"Ten, maybe twenty," replied Rose.

"Do you have a list of names and where they live?"

"Right here," she replied and handed us copies of all the scientists that were there in the warehouse.

"And the ones blacked out are the ones that came back?" asked Carlos.

"Yes," she replied.

"Ok, you and Leon take the first five," Carlos replied as he pointed at Rose.

"I'll go with Adalene," Luis said.

"You two take the second five," Carlos replied.

"Question," stated Rose.

"Yes?"

"What do you mean by five?"

"Five pages," replied Leon.

"And Starla and I will take the last five," said Carlos.

**Chapter 8**

**Learning What Happened**

We all went our separate ways. Adalene scoured at me when she walked away with Luis. Carlos grabbed my hand, not caring what Adalene just did.

"Do you think Adalene is acting like a child?" I asked.

"It's her loss that she can't have me anymore," Carlos replied looking in a car window and saw the keys were still in the engine.

"Why were you with her, anyways?" I asked after we both got into the car and buckled up.

"We were both young when I asked her out," he replied.

I watched him put the car in drive and take off in the town we're supposed to go to. I began to wonder what went on in their relationship. But Carlos just kept staring at me every time he stared at me.

"What made you break up with her?" I asked.

"When our jobs got in the way," he replied.

"And now she doesn't want to let go of you?"

"She never wanted me to break up with her."

"What made her stop thinking of you?"

"It's more like what made her think of me less before now."

"And that was?"

"Work."

"And what made you stop thinking about her?"

"Friends, family, you."

I smiled and looked out the window. There were small fires everywhere. Everything seemed to be destroyed. Carlos kept driving to where we were supposed to go. By the time we got there, I was asleep again. Carlos nudged me to wake up because we were at the first house.

**Chapter 9**

**Lost Contacts**

When we reached the first door, Carlos's walkie talkie went off.

"Carlos, come in," called Leon.

"What's going on?" replied Carlos.

"We lost contact with Luis and Adalene."

When I heard that I was shocked. But Carlos didn't seem phased by what Leon said.

"Ask if he contacted them in the past fifteen minutes," I said.

"Why?" asked Carlos.

"Please?" I replied with puppy dog eyes.

"Leon, did you talk to them in the past fifteen minutes?"

"Yeah," replied Leon."

"Ok."

"What kind of question is that?"

"Starla wanted to know."

"Why?"

"Because I had a vision that the car they were in crashed," I said.

Carlos looked at me dumbfoundedly.

"How do you know this?" he asked.

"I don't know," I replied.

"Where at?" asked Leon.

"Kalmya Street," I replied.

"Why would they go there?" mumbled Carlos.

"Should we see if they are ok?" Rose piped in.

"Even though I don't want to, we should," replied Carlos.

**Chapter 10**

**Searching for Lost Souls**

Carlos and I got back into the car and went to the street where Luis and Adalene went off. Leon and Rose were already there.

"Tire tracks were swervy from the beginning of the bridge over there," Leon said as he pointed to where Carlos and I just came.

"And stop over there," Rose finished up and pointed to the broken part of the bridge in the middle.

"What made them go off the bridge?" I asked.

"Rage, anger, hatred," replied Leon.

"Do you think Adalene did it?" I asked.

"Possibly," replied Leon.

We went down to where the car swerved off of the bridge. Carlos and Leon walked up to the edge and saw the car was on its hood.

"We should go down there to see if there's any bodies," said Carlos as they backed away from the edge.

"It's a long way down," stated Leon.

"Let's go down," I said.

We all went down to where the car was. Even though it was still engulfed in flames, it was still there.

"Rose, could you stay here?" asked Leon.

"Why?" she retorted.

"We don't want you to get hurt," he replied.

"Oh, so you think I'm not strong enough?"

"I didn't mean it like that, Rose."

I watched them argue with each other while Carlos brushed past me. He waved me over to follow him. As I followed Carlos's lead, Leon and Rose's voices were muffled by the blaze.

"Do you think…?" I began to say, but Carlos interrupted me with a kiss.

His lips were so tender and soft. I felt his hand creep up my shirt, but didn't stop him. All of a sudden we heard Leon clear his throat. He ruined a moment Carlos and I were having.

"What do you want, Leon?" Carlos asked as he stared at me.

"Are you two ready to search or are you just going to stay here and kiss?" barked Leon.

"We were about to come," I quickly replied.

Leon growled and walked back to Rose. Carlos grabbed me again and followed Leon, laughing. I could tell that Carlos had fun annoying Leon. Still I thought Carlos was a compassionate man.

We got back to Rose and it started to get dark. She was starting to get scared.

"I shouldn't have left the lab," she moaned.

"Hush," hissed Carlos.

"What's going on?" I whispered.

"I hear movement somewhere," he replied.

"Where?" Leon asked impatiently.

"Over there," Carlos replied, pointing toward a stone wall.

**Chapter 11**

**New survivors**

After Carlos said that, a dark figure started coming toward us. I squinted my eyes to see if it was Luis or Adalene, but it wasn't. It was someone new. A man, it looked like as it came closer. Leon was appalled at the fact that Carlos knew that there was someone else besides them.

"It's a man, but it isn't Luis," I said.

"How do you know?" asked Leon quizzically.

"Luis has a girly figure and wears long sleeves while this one has a muscular body with short sleeves," I replied.

This guy just kept coming closer until we finally saw his face. He was bleeding from scratches, bite marks, and scrapes. Of course, I was right about him being muscular. Leon pushed Rose behind him so that he could protect her better. Carlos was about to push me behind him, but I stepped closer to the guy. He seemed innocent enough to talk to.

"Hi," I said and held out my hand.

"You look familiar," he said. "Do I know you?"

"I don't think so," I replied.

"Oh," he said.

"My name's Starla, what's yours?"

"Bruce."

I looked all along his arms, looking at the cuts and bite marks. He just stood there looking at me.

"Do you have a cure for these bites?" Bruce asked.

I looked at Carlos and he nodded, so I said," Yes, we do."

"Ok. Can you use it on me please?"

"How long have you been bitten?" Carlos asked as he cautiously walked toward Bruce.

"Eight hours," Bruce replied.

"Damn," mumbled Leon.

"Anyways," I said.

Bruce looked at me with those dark brown eyes of his. I watched Carlos inject him with the serum then walked back toward me. He wrapped his arms around me.

"Have you seen a man and a woman come out of this car?" asked Rose.

"Better yet, I can lead you to them," replied Bruce.

"Ok," replied Rose.

We followed Bruce to where he was originally. There were more survivors than just Bruce. When I saw Bruce go into a different room, I quickly followed him into the room. Carlos followed after me. Leon started to carry Rose after she jammed her knee into a wall. Bruce turned right into a different room again and there, laying on a bed, was none other than Adalene.

"Is she ok?" I asked.

"She's badly hurt, but she's ok," Bruce replied.

Adalene started coughing as she laid there. Luis, however, came through the door with empty syringes. He stood in his spot after he saw Rose, Leon, Carlos and me.

"We thought you were dead," Carlos said.

"What do you mean?" Luis asked.

"When we saw the car, we thought that the blaze killed you both."

"Bruce helped me out and pulled Adalene out before the car blew up," Luis replied.

I started to cry when Adalene coughed up blood. Carlos pulled me close to him when he saw me crying.

"It'll be ok," he whispered.

Leon set Rose down in a chair to help Luis give Adalene one of the serum filled syringes. Bruce looked at Carlos holding me. Rose just sat there in the chair. She started liking Leon every second she was around him.

**Chapter 12**

**Saving an enemy turned friend**

"Take Starla out of the room, Carlos," Luis said.

"Ok," Carlos replied and guided me out of the room.

We could still hear what was going on in the room. I sniffled as Carlos held me.

"She's a tough cookie," Carlos said when he sat down and set me in his lap.

I still felt sorry for Adalene for what she's going through right now.

"Damn it Luis!" came Leon's voice.

"What?" came Luis's voice.

"Don't hit me!"

"Sorry."

"Back up."

"Ok."

Bruce walked out of the room and leaned against the wall. My head was against Carlos's shoulder. I slowed down on crying.

"Everything going ok in there?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah," replied Bruce.

He looked at the side of me as Carlos held me and brushed the hair out of my face.

"Carlos, you and Starla can come back in," Leon said.

"Ok," replied Carlos.

Carlos picked me up and came into the room. He sat me down next to Rose and walked over to Adalene. Her breathing seemed normal. She coughed ones more and slowly sat up with Carlos's help.

"Still think I'm a prick?" Carlos asked.

"No," Adalene coughed.

After she said that, she looked at me in shock. Then she looked around the room and saw a couple of new faces. Everyone stared at her, waiting for her to do something else. I had to look down again because my eyes were filling with tears again. Then I thought about my family.

"We have to go check on my family!" I cried out.

"Now?" asked Leon.

"Yes," I replied.

"Fine," sighed Leon.

**Chapter 13**

**Going back to the warehouse**

We walked out of the mountain base with Bruce trailing behind us. I thought it was kind of weird that he kept staring at me. Adalene seemed like she didn't care about Carlos anymore. I saw that Luis kept looking at her in case she fell. We climbed the mountain that we came down on. Before we left, Leon picked up Rose to move faster.

"You don't have to carry me, Leon," Rose said.

"Don't worry about it, Rose," he replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

As we reached the top, Bruce came with Carlos and me while Luis and Adalene went with Leon and Rose. We got into the last two remaining cars on the bridge and went back to the warehouse. Since Bruce was in the car, I couldn't fall asleep like I wanted to do because he kept asking questions.

"What's it like at this warehouse?" he asked.

"Just a couple of scientists, and that's about it," Carlos replied.

"Who were the other two that came with you?"

"Leon and Rose."

"Could you just shut up?" I growled.

"Sorry," replied Bruce.

The rest of the ride home was peaceful. I felt sorry that I yelled at Bruce, but I wanted peace and quiet. When we reached the warehouse, Jacob was sitting outside by the door. He looked distraught for some reason.

"Who's that?" Bruce asked.

"That's my brother," I replied.

Two minutes after we showed up, Leon, Rose, Luis and Adalene showed up. We got out of the car and I walked over to Jacob to see if he was ok.

"Are you ok, Jake?" I asked as I knelt in front of him.

He looked at me and put his finger to his lips.

I knew then why he did that. We could hear our parents yelling at each other in loud voices. It seemed to go on for several minutes.

"What's going on?" Carlos asked as he walked up to Jacob and me.

"My parents are fighting right now," I replied.

Jacob and I sat there while Carlos went into the warehouse. I heard my parents quiet down, so I grabbed Jacob's hand and went inside. My mother looked like she was about to kill someone. My father walked away.

"Why were you and dad arguing with each other?" I asked.

"Because we were just stressed out, hun," my mom answered.

My mom walked after my dad to make sure that he was ok. I turned around to the door to see that Leon, Rose, Luis, Bruce and Adalene were walking in the door. Carlos didn't care that Adalene came in, but it hurt him to see her like this. But the good thing was that she finally let him go. Bruce looked out of place in the warehouse.

"This place is huge," he said as he looked around.

"Stop looking and follow Sasha and Gabrael," barked Leon.

Bruce jumped when he heard Leon say that. I watched everyone walk toward the door that Sasha and Gabrael went through. Carlos grabbed my hand and guided me toward the room. He just smiled as he guided us to the door.


End file.
